Nkechinyere Ewa
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike (AEFUNAI), Ebonyi State branch, has launched a tree-planting campaign to mitigate the effects of climate change and promote environmental sustainability on campus.
The branch chairperson, Comrade Louis Omenyi, said the initiative was in line with a directive by the union’s National Executive Council (NEC) to encourage tree planting in Nigerian universities.
Speaking during the exercise, Omenyi said the branch chose its secretariat, which is under construction, as the starting point of the campaign in keeping with the principle that charity begins at home.
He said the initiative was also intended to protect the environment around the secretariat from the adverse effects of climate change, while promoting a greener and more sustainable campus.
Omenyi commended the ASUU national leadership under Comrade Chris Piwuna for introducing the tree-planting initiative across Nigerian universities, noting that it would help address environmental degradation and encourage a culture of environmental responsibility within university communities.
The Director of Climate Change at AEFUNAI and ASUU branch treasurer, Comrade Christiana Igberi, also lauded the initiative and pledged her directorate’s collaboration with the union to sustain an environmentally friendly atmosphere around the secretariat.
Similarly, the Director of the AEFUNAI Campus Green Initiative and Head of the Department of Architecture, Arc. Dr. Ifeanyi Chukwu, commended the branch for the initiative and urged other campus-based unions to emulate the effort.
Chukwu assured ASUU of technical support from his directorate and the Department of Architecture to ensure that the branch secretariat maintained an environmentally friendly outlook.
The highlight of the event was the planting of a tree each by the 10-member executive committee of the ASUU branch, marking the beginning of the union’s efforts to promote environmental sustainability at the university.